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Arek Latham
JaGul Arek Latham was an officer in the Cardassian Guard who commanded the Ninth Order during the Dominion War. During the war Latham commanded a fleet of ships defending the Kalandra sector at the beginning of the Kalandra Campaign. He was baffled at the presence of cloaked Klingon vessels in the system when plasma storms gave away the Klingon ships' position in spite the cloaking shields. The enemy's strategy became immediately apparent when a wing of Romulan warbirds, with better cloaking shields, swooped in on the Cardassian capital ships and opened fire, catching Latham surprise. Latham's would have been dealt a humiliating defeat if not for mines burrowing in subspace deployed across the system. ( : "Midnight Ride") Shortly before the 's curtailing of a group of Human Augments launching a biological agent against the Cardassian colony on Ventani II, Latham sensed something was amiss regarding the pattern of Federation Alliance attacks. He concluded that Federation and Klingon hit-and-run attacks were to draw forces away from the Ventani system. While believing the Federation would not target a large civilian population on a world of little strategic value, Latham believed the Klingons or the Romulans would target Ventani as a means of intimidation based on a confrontation with Klingon forces in the Shiva system. He requested Dominion reinforcements, which his Vorta liaison Diralna, stating that that Ventani was a strategically worthless planet and nothing more than a monument of Cardassia's past. This decision did not sit well with Latham, and he shoved her to the floor before storming out of his office. ( : "A Cause of Greater Worth") Switching Sides During the last forty days of the war, Latham was still in command of a mostly Cardassian garrison defending the Zhamur system to maintain the Dominion's hold on the Kalandra sector, a jumping off point for threatening Federation core systems. Though the Cardassian forces without the assistance of Dominion and Breen reinforcements stood very little chance against the Federation Alliance onslaught, he went along with the strategy of softening enemy forces knowing that losing the war would be disastrous for Cardassia. Though ships and troops belonging to the Ninth Order participated in the attack on the Rondac III outpost, Latham condemned the actions of Corat Damar and the Cardassian Liberation Front because, Latham believed, a loyal soldier did not take up arms against the state. He had hoped that once the rebellion was defeated, the Dominion and Breen could provide more than enough help in holding the line at Kalandra. When this turned out not to be the case and troop morale continued to decline, Latham realized that the Dominion and the Breen had no intention of doing the Cardassians any favors. His people were merely cannon fodder in achieving victory in the war. He had begun clandestinely providing the enemy with tactical data. His extramarital partner, Nezhak Perron passed off these secrets which eventually drew Diralna's suspicion, especially when Klingon and Romulan reinforcments arrived a day ahead of schedule. Latham put on a good facade, becoming weary of Diralna and the Jem'Hadar stationed on the Pakar harassing his crew. Diralna offered to call off the "witch hunt" if Latham executed Perron, which Latham declined. Diralna then carried out the execution of Perron herself, which nearly sent Latham into a murderous rage. Latham was convinced to take more decisive action when Dominion forces leveled Lakarian City as punishment for a popular uprising on Cardassia Prime. First he had to eliminate Diralna and her troops. He had done this by agreeing to a sexual partnership with Diralna after nearly a year of spurning her advances. As they were engaged in intercourse, Latham applied to a hypospray to her chin, triggering her termination implant. After incapacitating the guards in his quarters, Latham and chief medical officer Ereb Pretac carried out a plan to kill every Jem'Hadar on the Pakar in one fell swoop. Once those obstacles were removed, Latham and a wing of ships came to the aide of a wing of Starfleet vessels led by the . When the Alliance fleet neared Cardassia Prime, Latham provided his new allies information on the orbital weapon platforms, the biggest impediment to achieving a final victory over the Dominion. By the battle's end, Latham had found his family mansion was leveled in the Dominion bombardment, claiming the lives of his wife, father-in-law, and second-born son. His other children were not in the house, leaving him uncertain if they were alive or dead. Latham had come to the realization that this could have happened even if he hadn't turned against the Dominion, as his initial rationalization for not rebelling was to spare his family. ( :"To the Bitter End") Family Though he was married, Latham was engaged in an extra-marital romance with his records officer, Nezhak Perron. He was still deeply devoted his wife as the mother of his children, and her death had a strong emotional impact on him. He had three sons (one of whom was found dead at the war's end) and two daughters. One of his daughters was five years of age. At one point Latham wondered if he could dress up Diralna's Jem'Hadar guards, who stood like statues oblivious to everything around them, in the same manner his five-year old daughter dressed up her dolls. ( :"To the Bitter End") Latham Latham Latham